Body cameras join cops on the beat in US
LAUREL, USA: For a growing number of police officers in the United States, miniature video cameras are becoming as much a part of the uniform as a pistol, handcuffs and badge.
“I’ve been doing this for so long, I’m just used to it,” said officer Aaron Waddell of the local police force in Laurel, a Washington suburb of 25,000 that introduced body cameras nearly two years ago.
The rules are simple: whenever Waddell gets out of his patrol car for a traffic stop, or makes contact with someone on the street, he simply pushes a button on his belt.
Immediately, the pen-sized camera, attached to the frame of his glasses, starts recording everything the officer sees and hears. “I just hit it,” explained Waddell. “I don’t even think about it. It’s just a habit.”
Interest in such devices has surged in the United States since the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a police officer on August 9 in the Missouri town of Ferguson. That incident — in which a body camera was not used — prompted daily protests, frequent nightly confrontations with riot police, and a national debate on race and law enforcement. It also saw more than 150,000 people signing an online petition on the White House website calling for a “Mike Brown law” requiring all state, county and local police to wear body cameras.
Each camera costs $1,600 to $2,000, including cloud storage on Taser’s evidence.com website. Among big cities, New York and Washington have started putting body cameras to the test.